1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to gas fractionalization systems and, in particular, to gas fractionalization systems with built-in administrative and self-diagnostic functions.
2. Description of the Related Art
The application of oxygen concentrators for therapeutic use is known, and many variants of such devices exist. A particularly useful class of oxygen concentrators is designed to be portable, allowing users to move about and to travel to extended periods of time without the need to carry a supply of stored oxygen. Most of these portable concentrators produce an oxygen-rich gas by feeding compressed air through a pressure swing adsorption (PSA) system which selectively removes nitrogen and other components in the air so as to produce a pressurized, oxygen-rich product gas.
Generally, the design of such portable concentrators should be small, lightweight and quiet to be effective. The portable concentrators still need to produce a prescribed flow rate of oxygen. Portable concentrators involve a significant amount of miniaturization, leading to smaller, more complex designs as compared to stationary oxygen concentrators. Therefore it is important that portable concentrator performance is monitored closely and that problems can be fixed quickly to avoid leaving patients stranded without oxygen supply. Conventional concentrator diagnostic testing devices are external units which have to be connected to the concentrator each time when used. The need to connect an external, stand-alone device to the concentrator is time consuming and adds to the complexity and inefficiency of the testing process. Accordingly, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide a built-in administrative and diagnostic testing functions for portable oxygen concentrators, which results in more informed decision making in device repair and increased up-time for portable oxygen concentrators.